Chapter 32: Why Aren't You Looking Away?!
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 32: Why Aren't You Looking Away?!
A habit is called a habit for a reason—it's not something you can just shake off.
If it had an on/off switch you could flip whenever you wanted, it probably wouldn't be a habit.
[To be honest, I think that friend of yours we played with yesterday is better than you.]
Taemin Oppa must have thought I was an idiot.
[...No. My tier is higher than his.]
Higher? Yeah, right. You're the same person.
It was Taemin Oppa himself who gave me the clues to figure out he was Mr. RRR from yesterday.
First, his keybinds for the spell buttons were identical.
Many people use the same ones, so that might not have been conclusive proof, but the crucial thing was his movement.
Yesterday, when we played for a bit, he kept trying to dodge only to the right and got read easily.
No matter how close they were as friends, they wouldn't share such a minor pattern.
Normally, I wouldn't have been this analytical, but because I suspected it might be him, I observed the marksman carefully and was able to see through his lie.
The reason he probably wanted to hide it from me was because he’d been flaming his teammates.
Feeling a little irked, I wanted to tease him a bit more.
[But... that guy was better at dodging skills...]
This kind of acting, where you playfully roast someone, is a basic skill for any streamer.
[Ah. No! Seriously, Doah. Just give me one more chance.]
He sounded genuinely wronged as he whined and pleaded for another chance.
[Umm... But... I feel like we'll just lose again if I play with you...]
Ah, this is fun.
Watching him desperately compete against himself while pleading with me was just so cute.
[Maybe you should... go to a different lane, Oppa...?]
For a moment, he didn't answer.
I wondered if his Voicecord had disconnected and clicked on the window, but that didn't seem to be the case.
...Is he mad?
[...Fine. I'll go jungle.]
His voice was cold and subdued.
He was declaring our in-game separation.
Uh... this isn't how it was supposed to go...
I had been planning to just give in and play bot duo with him if he pleaded just one more time, so I was a little flustered.
[Huh? Really?]
I asked again, wondering if he was just joking.
[Yeah. I'm going tryhard.]
He had already picked his champion.
I had no choice but to play bot lane with another user.
[I'm gonna turn off my mic for a bit.]
[Huh...? Why...?]
Turning off his mic, too? Does he really not want to talk to me that much?
[I need to focus.]
Without even waiting for my reply, Taemin Oppa disconnected his mic and...
8/0/3
In just 15 minutes, he completely destroyed the game from the jungle.
Wait. Was he originally a jungler?
His Lee Sin put on a performance so incredible you wouldn't believe he was the same person fumbling around next to me just moments ago.
With a single kick from him, the enemy marksman was torn to shreds without even getting to use a single skill.
The enemy team, utterly crushed, surrendered at 15 minutes. Only after the game ended did he rejoin the Voicecord channel.
[...So? Do you still think that other guy looks better?]
His voice was filled with what I could only describe as pent-up resentment.
In a low voice, Taemin Oppa sought recognition for his skills.
[There's no comparison!]
I was afraid that if I joked around again, he'd either stop playing with me altogether or turn off his mic and go into seclusion to train, so I hurriedly showered him with praise.
[Wow... Oppa, you were so cool that game. That kick you did right there was just—bam!]
-Diro-ring
Hearing the sound of him leaving Voicecord, I grew even more flustered.
Why... why did he leave?
I didn't even say anything bad. Not this time.
Was that not the praise he wanted to hear?
Unable to understand his actions, I waited for him anxiously.
“Ehehe.”
Ah, fuck.
“Eheheheheh.”
Why does my laugh sound so stupid?
After hastily disconnecting from Voicecord, I let out the nerdy laugh I'd been holding back.
I got acknowledged by Luka...!
Doah said I was fucking awesome...!
Is today my birthday?
I shivered from the dizzying pleasure.
Was it because I'd only been teased and picked on for being so bad?
With my mic off, I played with intense focus, thinking I'd quit gaming if I lost this match.
My jungle clears were as clean as possible. No wasted pathing.
And finally, I succeeded in a proper stomp.
As a reward, receiving Doah's genuine praise made my head spin.
Ah... this is it... this is it...!
My laughter showed no signs of stopping, leaking out like water from a cracked pot.
This isn't the time for this. Doah must be waiting.
I cleared my throat, composed myself, and reconnected to Voicecord.
[...Doah?]
[Oppa...]
Doah answered my call, her voice completely dejected.
[Were you really mad that I was teasing you earlier?]
[Huh? No?]
[Then why did you leave without a word?]
Because I didn't want to show you my pathetic side.
[Sorry. I had to run to the bathroom.]
[Ah, what the heck! I was so scared, I thought you were mad!]
[No, no. Why would I be mad when you praised me?]
After a moment of silence, Doah replied coyly.
[...I don't know.]
The atmosphere had become a little awkward, and I was debating whether we should play another game when Doah spoke up first.
[...Oppa.]
[Yeah.]
[Oppa, have you ever installed VRWorld on your computer?]
Junseok had suggested we try filming in VR, so those of us who could had decided to install it beforehand.
...Of course, I'd had it installed long before that.
I didn't have a headset, but I thought I might be able to participate in one of Luka's streams.
[Ah, yeah. It runs well.]
[You just tried it with a keyboard, right?]
[Yeah. Without VR, it kind of feels like playing Minecraft.]
VRWorld could be run without a VR device.
Of course, you couldn't experience the true magic of virtual reality, that feeling of someone actually being next to you, but as long as you had a mic, you could still talk and record videos.
[I'm a little tired from playing games for so long. I got my headset early, so should I show you some of the stuff I've figured out?]
...Whoa.
Does that mean... I can meet... Luka-tan...?
The girl I've only ever seen through a monitor... just for me...?
[Ah... do you have an avatar, too?]
I swallowed hard and asked in a tense voice.
[I don't know much about avatars, so for now, I just downloaded a free one.]
Aah... so it won't be Luka-tan...
Then again, there's no way Doah would show me the actual Luka-tan avatar.
Doah was meticulously hiding the fact that she was Luka from me.
[So I just need to launch it on my computer and log in, right?]
[Yep, yep. Tell me your ID, Oppa.]
[It's TAEMININI02.]
[It'll take me a minute to launch it and adjust some settings, so please wait a moment.]
When I heard the sound of her disconnecting from Voicecord, my heart started pounding like crazy.
Wow. Me and Doah... in VRWorld...?
-Diro-ring
About three minutes passed.
Doah returned to the Voicecord channel.
[Ah, ah. Oppa, are you in?]
[Yeah. I'm at the start screen now.]
[Okay... let's see...]
Doah told me to wait a moment, then sent me a friend request.
[Accept it, then join the world I invite you to.]
[Okay!]
I'd never done it myself, but I'd watched Luka do it so often that I could easily follow Doah's instructions.
-Loading.
After a short loading time, a Japanese-style map with fluttering cherry blossoms unfolded on my screen.
[Oppa!]
Hearing Doah's voice in my ear, I spun my screen around, trying to find her.
[Doah?]
It wasn't Luka's avatar, so I called her name to confirm.
A female character in front of me nodded her head.
It wasn't a flashy avatar with stunning visuals like Luka's.
Instead, the character, which looked much more like the real Doah, waved at me with both hands.
[Nice to see you!]
Ah... ah...
Fuck. Should I buy a VR headset?
It was such a shame that I didn't have a headset.
If I had one on, this would have felt like a real interactive date... Aah...
[Oppa, isn't it cool? It recognizes all my arm and body movements like this.]
It's not amazing. Not amazing at all.
I see it all the time, so why would it be amazing?
Instead, my heart was just pounding, and I was completely mesmerized.
[Oh. This is my first time seeing it in person. It's awesome.]
[I know how to change my expression, too.]
Doah's wide, round eyes changed to [>_<].
[Super cute, right?]
Luka-tan. I'm dying. Any more of this and I'm literally going to die.
[Euh... this is nice...]
[Sseup... Oppa. Your reaction is a little pervy, don't you think?]
[Ah, what are you talking about? Pervy?]
I am absolutely not that kind of person, Doah-ssi.
[I can jump, too.]
It seemed Doah was trying to show off how dynamic the movements could be, but...
[Did you see?]
[Uh... Doah...]
[Yes? What is it?]
...I should probably tell her. Yeah. Even if this is just VRWorld, it's the right thing to do, right?
[I think there's a slight glitch...]
[A glitch? What... Kyaaaaaa!]
Doah screamed the moment she checked her own avatar.
[O... Oppa! Why aren't you looking away!]
Because after she jumped, Doah's skirt had flipped up and showed no signs of coming back down.